Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

We are debating an important section which deserves time and consideration. What we are dealing with is a proposal to change essentially and fundamentally how county and city development plans are formed. Senators on the Government side are also concerned with this section and how it is elevating the role of regional authorities in the making of development plans. The Bill gives primacy to regional authorities in the making of development plans. All city and county development plans will be required to comply with whatever is contained within a regional development plan. We need to think through the matter fully before we take that step.

I sat on a regional authority. Senators previously referred to an issue about which I am concerned, namely, that regional authorities do not have the expertise in terms of full-time permanent staff to deal with planning issues. Currently, planning staff are seconded either from the Department or local authorities to draw up regional plans. The regional authority structure is underdeveloped. I was chairman of a regional authority and I am aware of the commitment of staff who go beyond the call of duty to try to make regional authorities relevant. Unfortunately, they are not given the resources or the teeth to do what is required of them by the Department. The Bill proposes a serious escalation in their obligations and requirements, yet no detail is provided on how the planning departments, which do not currently exist, are to be staffed and resourced. Neither is information provided on how the public will engage with the formulation of regional plans, which is the most fundamental right of any individual or community. In essence, what we are doing is removing the making of development plans one step away from the public.

What the Minister of State is trying to do is micromanage local authorities from a regional perspective. I acknowledge that there is a role for regional co-ordination. It is important that there is a regional strategy on how regions develop. However, not every local authority in every county and city within a region is the same. As I said previously, one size does not fit all. Every county has its unique attributes and strengths and it also has weaknesses. Why are we trying to make every county and city uniformly the same when in essence they are not? That is the effect the Bill will have. It will take power from counties and cities and funnel them back up through the regional structure to make them all look the same. That is not a good thing. Senators need to contemplate the issue seriously. I urge the Minister of State to review this section with a view to providing more detail on how he proposes regional authorities will cope with the extra important obligation.

Section 7 gives primacy for the formulation of development plans to regional authorities rather than local authorities. It is formulating plans from the top down rather than the bottom up. That is diminishing local democracy vis-À-vis elected members and the ability of the public to engage in terms of easy access to the making of development plans. If a survey was carried out in the morning I am not sure how many members of the public would even know that a regional authority exists, but in spite of that we intend to give it primacy in the making of development plans. There is a serious job to be done. I urge caution on all sides. We should think the issue through seriously before we try to implement it in law.